Moving On: A KibaXShika fic
by IET
Summary: Generations of Naras' have been passed down with a curse only mentioned in legends. When the youngest member of the clan experiences its effects, can he ever find someone to love both sides of him? progressing shikaXkiba fic RE-Edited CH.8 UP! REVIEW PLZ
1. Ending to Begin Anew

Moving On (KxS)

By: IET

Chapter 1

Shika's POV:

We've been together somewhere around 5 ½ months now; Neji and I that is. He treats me like a treasure, something to be coveted and I suppose that I am with the secret that has been passed done like a bloodline trait. The sex of course was great but it almost felt empty now, like there was no emotion in it, no love behind it. I got the feeling that he's hiding something. It wasn't until a couple of months ago that I realized what it was. Or to be more precise, who it was…Sai.

Yes, I knew about Neji going behind my back and cheating on me for 3 months out of the 5 ½ that we were actually together. But he smiled more and, back then, it seemed like that was all I needed to carry on and could ignore the reason why he smiled and who it was really for but when he started getting distant… that's when I started to reach my breaking point. And I realized that no, I could not simply ignore that my lover loved another and was seeing him not-so-secretly behind my back. But I knew.

I knew, and I still couldn't give him away when I found out. That's why today, staring at the clouds, I realize I've been incredibly selfish and I just want him for myself, to keep my secret safe… But mostly I was just being selfish. I've realized that keeping him away from who he really loves will just end up destroying us and when everything is said and done we'll hate each other; that was something I wasn't willing to risk happening.

I'm as certain as I can be that Sai knew about Neji and me before they started anything because it wasn't like Neji and I tried to hide it. So he went into the relationship eyes wide open and he still went through with it. I could say I'm angry at him but truly it's myself that I hate for not seeing it sooner, for not being enough to keep Neji faithful.

A memory popped into my head at the thought of hate. It was of when my parents found out about us. It was after the Hyuuga clan actually accepted me and I thought my parents would have the same openness that Lord Hiashi had. I'm sure my secret helped with reassuring that Neji's prodigy ways would be carried on and that was the only true reason that our relationship was accepted so swiftly. It isn't like I could've hidden my secret for very long as Neji had so kindly pointed out that my chakra was an abnormally dark navy blue instead of the typical light sky blue of the average ninja. Therefore, I had to explain because they had already been jumping to the conclusion that I was tainted in some abnormal way, which I suppose I was –am- tainted.

Anyway, the Hyuuga leader and elders thought that even though I was male, my family trait was a great asset to the clan and in turn conceded to the relationship. But my parents did not; oh no, not by far. They even went so far as to disown me, their only son. Just thinking about that not being worth the relationship I was in made my heart seize painfully and tears well in my eyes. The thought was still too painful, and at this point everything seemed to be overwhelming me. I felt a shift in my chakra that I was all too familiar with and knew that I had to get a move on if I was going to beat my anxiety ridden curse from revealing itself to the whole village.

My thoughts came back to the present with that pain and became even more scattered than usual. With a sigh that only the melancholy broken-hearted could manage I pulled myself up trying to mentally prepare myself for what I was about to do. I knew Neji had someone to fall back on but I had no one, no one that could sweep me away into a whirlwind romance that wouldn't ever exist for me anyway. The only ones now left by my side was of course Chouji and Ino, whom I haven't really talked to in a long time since we all got involved with our respective partners, and then there was Kiba…just thought of him brought a pained smile to my face and I thought with a grimace that maybe, just maybe, I would survive this anyhow.

I made my way down the hill in the direction that I could feel he was and headed that way to confirm once and for all if it was true and to prepare Sai to catch Neji even though I knew in my heart and my head that he already had before I even had the chance to let go.

Neji's POV:

I had a feeling that Shikamaru wanted to tell me something, or maybe it was just me feeling guilty about keeping Sai a secret from him. I never wanted to hurt him but I couldn't help falling for Sai the way I had. He brought a new freedom into my strict world with unbending rules, a freedom I never had even when that world was more Shikamaru-centric…who I haven't been able to call by his nickname since I started my other relationship with Sai. It just didn't feel appropriate addressing him with a pet name made out of fondness and love when that no longer existed in the relationship. I sighed at that thought; I had really screwed him over on this one. But I was pretty sure he had been asleep when I snuck out to go see Sai so I doubt it was that…I wonder what it could be, and here I thought I was able to read him so well…

3rd Person POV:

"Sai," Shika said walking up to aforementioned person, a solemn look upon his face.

"Shikamaru," Sai said turning to face him with a cattish smile on his face. "Did you need something?" he asked.

"I need to talk to you…privately…" His emphasis on the last word caused a shift in Sai's facial expression as it dropped into something that resembled inquisitive blankness. Sai seemed to take in each minute detail of Shikamaru face before his face tightened as if preparing for a battle.

"I see, so you know…" The statement was general, but its meaning did not escape Shikamaru's intelligence. He offered a stiff nod before he cleared his throat to speak.

"Take care of him…" And he walked away at his usual pace, though there was a tension in his shoulders that had not been there before, or had at least been less noticeable before.

When Shikamaru arrived at his and Neji's, for now anyway, apartment Neji felt the atmosphere shift into a tense one as Shika washed but did not sit at the table; instead he stood stiffly leaning in a faux relaxed pose against the counter with his arms crossed as he watched Neji empty the cartons of Chinese food onto each plate before turning around and handing him the plate and a fork, or tried to. When Shikamaru did not accept the food, he knew right away that something was wrong; he had ordered Shikamaru's favorite after all.

"Are you okay?" he asked setting his own and Shikamaru's plate back on the counter and crossing his own arms.

Shika smiled tightly before whispering something so gently Neji only just barely caught it but that did not stop Neji from uttering an astounded 'what'.

"I said pack your things, you're leaving."

"You-you're throwing me out? Why? What have I-…" Neji trailed off his eyes meeting the knowing glare boring into his eyes. "You know, how?"

"Did you really think I was naïve? Did you really think I was asleep all those times you snuck out our bedroom window to go sleeping with him? Did you?" He was angry, and for anyone who knew Shikamaru they knew that was one hell of an accomplishment. When Neji spoke to protest, he was interrupted by a defeated sigh.

"Just… don't, Neji, just don't even try, okay? Now…, Neji, I believe you should go pack your things." Neji's jaw loosened into a drop of shock at that. Neji couldn't believe that Shikamaru was honestly throwing him out without giving him a chance to find some place else because he knew for certain he was not going back to the Hyuuga compound no matter how understanding they had been. He knew they would be utterly disappointed at the loss of such an "asset" as Shikamaru was to the clan but he knew they would be even more outraged at who he was replacing Shikamaru with. At the clearing of Shika's throat he realized he had gotten lost in thought and brought his eyes up to Shikamaru's face from where they had fallen onto his own hands.

Shikamaru had only one more thing to say before he left again and so just got it out in the open. "He's waiting for you…" He didn't need to say more because Neji only needed a few seconds to realize what exactly Shikamaru had said and the smile that bloomed on his face physically hurt Shikamaru to see so he turned away and left before Neji could say anything. But he did not leave fast enough to miss the thank you that was whispered as he exited the door and transported away back to his secret hill, not his favorite but it would do since he did not want to be found.

Neji didn't know how fast things spread around the village until he was standing outside Sai's door with his two suitcases and seen Chouji, Ino and Kiba approaching him with fierce scowls on their faces. Neji's stance tensed as they stopped a few feet in front of him preparing to go on the defensive if necessary.

However he was not prepared for the stinging slap that met his cheek or the sight of Ino shaking her stinging hand in turn, if it had happened to anyone else it would have been amusing. Chouji was holding back Kiba, who for once was without Akamaru, and looked like he was ready for the kill; he was lunging at Neji ready to tear him to shreds but the sight before was far more intimidating and Neji realized that this was the act of a lover who hadn't admitted to his loved one that he did in fact love him. The hateful scorn in Kiba's face was reproachful, the stern set of his jaw painful, and the clenched clawed hands were shaking in anger; it was in this instance that Sai chose to open his door his expression nothing more than his usual pleasant inquiring face at the killer intent changed to an honest smile when he seen Neji before turning into a protective glare prepared for anything from the ones before him.

Ino took a deep breath but it was clear it would take a lot more than that to calm her down as she spoke, rage shaking the high timbers in her voice. "I hope this was worth it, both of you." And with that she shot one last glare at Neji and Sai before turning to her companions and with a look they all took off wondering if they'd be able to find their friend today or if they would have to wait for him to come out of hiding. There were only three other times where there had been enough emotional distress for Shikamaru to disappear for days on end and only showing his face when he was needed on a mission. Not even their leader knew how to find him when he didn't want to be found; only knowing that when he was needed on a mission, somehow he knew and would be there.

The first time he disappeared was when he first found out that he had some… abnormity that was a family trait that skipped every two generations. They didn't know what it was, just that finding out about it caused Shikamaru to disappear for a week. The second time was when Asuma died and that was by far the worst time period for the three man squad. Shikamaru had dropped off the face of the earth for nearly six months, struggling to cope with the only parental figure he'd had his whole life because they all knew his parents had him nearly shunned when they discovered whatever was wrong with him. The third and final time he had only disappeared for two or three days and that was because of his parents disowning him completely because of getting together with Neji. Not only could they not accept him and what they seen as a deficiency but they also couldn't handle the fact that their son was also gay. They each shared a look before they split up, fearing that this time Shikamaru might not recover.

Sai and Neji however had no idea what the panicked look was about that they had all shared before darting off but they had a suspicion that it had to deal with the lost lover and friend. With a shrug, they pushed it to the back of their minds as they each grabbed a bag of Neji's and moved him into his lovers home.


	2. Hiding To Be Found

Chapter 2:

Shikamaru's thoughts were a mess as he dragged himself out of the shadows of the trees into the tiny clearing where he hid away from the things that got to be too much for him. This was definitely one of those times. He didn't want to worry his friends but he found he didn't care at this point; he needed to cope and this was the only way he knew how. He choked on his next breath however and it turned into a sob as the tears now flowed freely and he collapsed onto the forest floor the shadows that protected him pulling at him and dragging into his misery where his abnormity would expand exponentially before breaking free and he couldn't rein it in.

The pain was too great to cope in this form and so the shadows surrounded him changing him into a form that was used to imbalances in hormones and emotions. This is what his parents couldn't handle and the sobs intensified the change was always so painful and it lasted for nearly three days at least; his fragile family ties had been sacrificed for nothing, his secret had been told for nothing not that Neji ever had the chance to witness the effects of what his family secret did. No one had ever witnessed it besides Chouji and he trusted his best friend not to speak of it ever.

It had been close to a week of laying in the forest and only surviving off of the rations that he kept in his weapons pouch when he heard it. There was a sudden rustling in the distance alerted him to someone's approach and they were approaching fast about 100 km north-east. He shuddered in panic no one could see him like this; his chakra network was too distinguishable to not be recognized by the one approaching. Quickly he let the shadows take him, using the only technique he knew that would obscure him completely, and he melted completely before disappearing just as the two bodies came crashing through the trees into the clearing; one a canine of great proportions, the other a young man with canine like qualities.

'Kiba… and Akamaru…' Shikamaru realized as he shifted knowing he would never be seen but scent was another thing all together and he had forgotten that when he'd used the technique so he was surprised to hear Kiba call him out.

"Come out Shikamaru, I know you're here…You have to be…" Kiba's voice had trailed off, a desperate whisper as he could not see his beloved friend nor could he pin-point his scent, it seemed to be surrounding him but not touching him where he was standing: the only spot that was reached by the moonlight in the late hours of the evening/early morning.

The desperation surprised Shikamaru, so much so that he unknowingly released the technique and stood at the very edge of the clearing partially hidden by a tree and thoroughly hidden by the shadows. "Shika!" Kiba exclaimed whipping around as he sensed me appear. He stopped coming towards Shikamaru when Akamaru growled at the one hidden by the shadows and that's when he caught the change in scents; it still smelled like his beloved friend but there was something different, so minimal, so…feminine. "Shika?" Kiba said in askance not entirely sure his senses were right which was really saying something considering that's what he relied on for survival.

The eyes he could see; the whites were vibrant against the dark of the iris and pupil with the surrounding darkness that engulfed every other physical trait in obscurity. And those eyes seemed softer, still sharp with wit and knowledge, but still effeminate. He heard the sigh and felt the breath as the breeze was nonexistent this deep in the forest.

Again he called his name in askance his head tilted in curiosity, Shika acknowledged, like a puppy. He decided he would take his chances and hope that keeping his voice low and his body to the shadows would be enough to hide this secret. At the fourth call of his name, this time there was agitation, as if Kiba thought he was toying with him and Shika responded.

"What, Kiba?" He could see the change in Kiba as he realized his voice was higher than a male's voice his age should be. Panic coursed through him and he knew Kiba seen it in his eyes as he uttered a brief profanity and leaped to try and get away. The panic did not help to lower his distress that triggered the reaction and in fact brought it to a new high that Shikamaru knew was going to force him to shut down if it got any higher. However, any further thoughts were cut short as he was blindsided by a giant white beast and was pinned down under great white paws. Akamaru sniffed liberally at the person pinned underneath him; barking happily the ninja dog licked the face in excitement. Kiba sighed in relief as he approached the dog pinning who was now confirmed as Shikamaru, even though there was something still off about his scent.

"Why did you run Shika?" Kiba asked kneeling down and meeting the eyes of his broken hearted friend. Shikamaru held his gaze before turning his face and rolling over away from dog and owner.

"I didn't want you to know… I didn't want anyone to know about this shameful disposition…" Kiba was confused; his beloved friend's voice was filled with reproach and self-loathing something he hadn't heard since the first retrieval of Sasuke attempt that ended in failure, at least according the nationally deemed genius. With Kiba's confusion evident, Shikamaru sighed disdainfully before sitting up and answering that confusion with a reply.

"Come with me back to my clearing?" He asked holding a hand out for Kiba which he accepted helping himself up off of his haunches. Releasing Kiba's hand, Shika took to the trees his friend and dog following closely behind him. As the clearing came into view, the trio slowed before stopping just before the comfort of the shadows ended. Sensing his friend's reluctance to enter into the lighted area, Kiba placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before speaking.

"Come on Shika, I gotta make sure you're alright and I can only do that in the light. Your reluctance is worrying me…" He trailed off unsure of what really to say but it seemed to have the desired affect as Shikamaru sighed heavily once more before taking a step towards the light. As soon as he took that step however, Shikamaru felt a shift that told him this would be a mistake and he couldn't tell if it was just that self-loathing voice in his head or actual reason.

"I…Kiba, you have to leave…" Shikamaru found himself saying, feeling it unsafe for his friend to be near him any longer and in the next second he realized why. There was a strong pulse of power that nearly knocked Shikamaru off his feet but did succeed in knocking Kiba back a few feet sliding to a stop before he had a chance to crash into a tree.

"Shika…" Kiba started but never got to finish as a raised hand silenced him. It was in the light of the moon, casting a sharp appearance of talon hands meant to sink into prey. "Kiba!...Leave!" at the guttural order Kiba's eyes focused more clearly on the figure of his friend clearly making out the outline even in the dim lighting thanks to his enhanced eyes. The outline was much more curvy than what was to be expected of a male of any age and it was only another question compounded onto the several others that were the secret that the Nara family has hidden for so long, only to have Shikamaru out it, if only to the leader of the village and the elders. Another pulse of dark power knocked him back once more this time he did collide with one of the many surrounding trees and his worry for his friend and perhaps his life as well were heightened.

"Leave NOW Kiba." Shikamaru ordered once more obviously sensing he had not fled at the first warning but Kiba was all too familiar with primal power and that's what Shikamaru was exuding unendingly; if he kept it up ANBU would be there to detain him in the matter of minutes considering how far they were into the woods and the wards that protected the area. Shaking off his brief hesitation, Kiba stood once more with determination.

"The power does not accept you as a mate. The power will destroy you effortlessly. The power commands you to leave." Shikamaru's off-voice ordered him, now even odder and more robotic than before. Kiba growled sensing this was a time for his primal animalistic side to come out and show it's dominance; releasing it, he over-powered what Shikamaru was putting out and a whimper from Akamaru almost made him waver and lose the dominance battle. Shikamaru shivered at the thrill from the power around him, not really knowing what was going on but feeling an acceptance nowhere near what he thought he would ever have in his lifetime.

The powers raged, Kiba's overcoming Shikamaru's with each step closer that he took and when he was standing before his beloved friend, himself cast in the moonlight while Shikamaru stayed just inside the shadows, the powers were almost at a complete equilibrium and Kiba knew that the one thing he needed to do to reach that stage was to take the last step and wrap his arms around the one person he couldn't forget no matter how much tail he chased.

Kiba took the plunge and wrapped his arms around his beloved friend, pulling him close. The powers clashed mightily before simmering and disappearing into the calmness of acceptance. The affects on Shikamaru were instantaneous; his body shook pressed firmly against Kiba as he was before collapsing altogether against him in exhaustion; his emotions were stretched thin and he physically couldn't be more drained and so his body and brained crashed slumping against his only form of support.

Kiba noticed the shift in weight even as he was confused by the feel of the form that was pressed against him and so laid the body down in the clearing as Akamaru approached and sat by his side as he stared dumbfounded at the genius before him. The coveted secret of the Nara clan was that every second generation could turn into females? How the hell was that something to be ashamed of?


	3. Return Safely

DISCLAIMER: As if it isn't obvious, I do not own the actual characters, setting, or any media attached to the series.

Chapters 3

Kiba was thoroughly confused not only by why Shikamaru would hide such a novelty feature from him but also why his family was so dead-set against Shika finding happiness with such a hidden aspect that most couples, and even parents, would be ecstatic to have if they, or their children in the parents' case, did indeed like the same gender. However, his questions would have to wait to be answered because his best friend, or at least he thought Shikamaru was, was knocked out cold after the power struggle and acceptance. He'd wondered if Neji had to go through the process or if this instance was only because of Shikamaru being in the state of mind that he was in when Kiba found him.

A groan came from the body lying across Akamaru's back as they traveled back to the once shared apartment of Shikamaru and Neji. A hand came up to the owner's head in pain and again another groan was emitted from Shika. Slightly concerned but knowing, more or less, that his friend was fine Kiba asked him anyway if he was alright. This caused Shikamaru to startle and fall off Akamaru's back despite his cat-like reflexes that were engrained into all ninja. Landing in a rather ungraceful heap, Shika rolled to his feet his eyes on the snickering boy and his doggy companion.

Standing up straight and dusting himself off, Shikamaru asked snippily, "What pray tell is so funny?" This only caused Kiba to laugh outright, clutching his sides in effort to lessen the pressure of his ribs.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed and, shooting one last glare at the snickering companions, took to the trees to get home faster. It was while he was escaping the laughing duo that Shikamaru realized he had come out of his cursed form and felt much more relaxed than he had in a long time, possibly his whole life; there was some sort of peace within him and it took him only a moment to realize it came from the side that seemed to be against him his whole life, or at least was the cause of all his troubles. He heard the foot steps and crunching of tree bark under heavy paws before he seen the massive body of Akamaru and the fit physique of his friend. He sighed in annoyance and resignation, knowing that they, or at least Kiba, would not leave until there was a firm reassurance that he was alright.

Landing gracefully on his doorstep, Shikamaru pulled out his key and unlocked the door before entering quickly to relock and set the traps that any ninja of a hidden village would set, or least one that did not want to be disturbed. Kiba did not take well to this as he could barely sense the chakra being used to rig the whole system of traps that Shikamaru was setting up, knowing all too well that none of them were pleasant as he had the unfortunate opportunity to experience. Pounding on the door he called out to Shikamaru nearly begging him to let Kiba in. As the minutes slowly ticked by the vein of annoyance ticked on the side of Kiba's head and again he repeatedly pounded on the door.

In a last ditch effort he called out loudly in a voice that all could hear: "So Shika what was up with that thing in the forest? I didn't know you could tu—" He was cut off by a sudden yank that had him stumbling non-too-gracefully through Shikamaru's doorway and into his rented out house.

Cold eyes were turned upon him that made him almost shiver in feared expectance of an explosion and it did come but quietly as was Shikamaru's way.

"What do you _think_ you're doing shouting _that_ for the world to hear? You think I'm keeping this all a secret because I am _ashamed_? Well you would be wrong but I am in no way going to explain myself to the likes of _you_. Not even Chouji, or better yet _Ino,_ would stoop so low as to reveal a secret I've been keeping my whole life to the world like that. And you call yourself my _friend_." With that, Shikamaru escaped to his room leaving Kiba somewhat stupefied because that rather calm, despite the glare, reaction was not exactly what he had been expecting.

Approaching the door slowly with caution, as if it might explode if he so much as touched it, he called out softly his voice low with apology. "Shikamaru? Come on, I just want you to talk to me alright… I apologize for doing that and it was low of me to nearly reveal your hard kept secret, but when you let me in that day and told me that your family had one of the best kept secrets lying in your genes… well damn, I never thought it would be something like this, now will you please come out and talk to me please? I'm only concerned about you. With this whole Neji thing…well I haven't seen you this torn up since Asuma died…" There was a flicker of light coming from underneath the door before it completely extinguished at the mention of all of Shikamaru's trouble and he could hear Shika cursing him to Hell and back.

For the second time within the span of ten minutes the door was wrenched open and Kiba was pulled inside.

"Are you happy now? Look what you've done…" Shikamaru was once more in his cursed state, his once tight fitting mesh shirt even tighter around the well-formed chest Shika had been endowed with, them being only fully covered thanks to the now tightly constricting chuunin vest, and his pants sagged on the shapely hips dipping teasingly. Kiba could only look admiringly at Shikamaru and tossed him a smirk before saying: "I don't think you could get me to look away if you tried…" Color rose lightly to Shikamaru's cheeks, the he turned she turned away in embarrassment giving Kiba the perfect views of the tight muscles that shaped his backside well.

At the stiffness now between his legs, Kiba shifted uncomfortably before adjusting himself to make his erection less noticeable. When Shikamaru turned back around the redness in his cheeks were gone, that is until his eyes traveled down Kiba's lithe frame after noticing to brief hunger in his friend's eyes, and his eyes landed on the noticeable mass under his friend's pants causing his eyes to shoot back up to Kiba's face in askance and confusion. Kiba only shrugged as if it was no big deal and walked over to the once shared bed of Shikamaru and his old partner and sat down, patting the spot next to him. Hesitantly, Shikamaru shifted from his spot by the door to the spot Kiba had chosen and sat stiffly beside his friend.

"Shikamaru?" At his name, brown eyes met equally brown eyes in question. "I want you to know that even though I know about your secret, I don't see you any differently than before." Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise; he had not been expecting such outright acceptance, even Chouji needed sometime to come to terms with the fact that his best friend was a novelty act that was for sure. "And there's another thing…" Kiba hesitated at the enraptured look Shikamaru had on him; he closed his eyes and drew a deep breath before continuing.

"I want you to know that I have strong feelings for you… strong romantic feelings that is, and these do not change with the knowledge that you can transform into something that may not be readily accepted in society but is accepted by myself… These feelings are perhaps extended further knowing that I can have my cake and eat it too…" Kiba shot Shikamaru a smile at this and once more those endearing cheeks colored. "I realize though that making any advances on you would not be acceptable by either you or me because I will not be a rebound and I just want you to know… I just want you to know that I will be here for you no matter how long it takes to convince you that I will not be leaving you alone to fight your demons by yourself." Having finished his little monologue, Kiba nodded in confirmation accepting his own speech as proper and covering everything he had wanted to tell his longtime love.

Shikamaru sat there dumbfounded; what could he possibly say to that? His only response was a stiff nod that Kiba noticed but just brushed it off and stood up.

"Well I'm going to go home now as it is rather late considering I have a mission later today. Good night Shikamaru." And with that he placed a light kiss on top of his beloved's head and quickly exited the room and then the house taking off with Akamaru, whom had waited patiently outside the whole time so Kiba could talk to Shikamaru, back to the Inuzuka compound.

Shikamaru slowly came out of his stupor, shaking his head slowly to clear his thoughts. Looking down at himself as a herself he decided he needed a shower and quickly did so, however the heat where Kiba's lips had laid upon his scalp could not be erased no matter how hot the water got and Shika found he rather liked it, a thought he was not quite expecting but thoroughly enjoyed and figured that maybe he wasn't as in love with Neji as he had thought he was; he would get over that cheating bastard easily he thought optimistically, a rather unusual occurrence for a strategist of his caliber who tended to be more realistic when it came to outcomes. He could not help but to think that his would now be a happy one; this of course encouraged by the power coursing through him; he would know for sure how he would feel later in the day when he was rested from the stress he'd had in the last twenty-four hours. And with that, he set about reactivating all safety measures before collapsing on his noteworthy bed, the most comfortable of its make and model; he was out within minutes of his head hitting the pillow.

As unconsciousness consumed him, shadows engulfed his body before dispersing as the lamp was once more lit and he had his male body once again.

When Kiba arrived at his family's compound with Akamaru, he slumped against the side wall of the house in exhaustion; having just come out right and told his no longer secret love how it was, he was thoroughly exhausted having depleted himself of all emotional energy. With a sigh he teleported into his bedroom shedding all clothes and hitting the shower for a quick rinse down before falling into bed with a light bounce. Thinking back onto the events of the day, Kiba let out a long suffering sigh feeling only slightly frustrated but then the face of his beloved friend would enter his mind and his thoughts calmed making it easy for him to slip precariously into unconsciousness, his last thoughts were of the stunned look on Shikamaru's face when he had simply kissed the crown of his friend's skull.

The next morning, Kiba set about the task of collecting the items he thought he would need for the mission he was about to go on. Making sure he had everything down to even the basic necessities and toiletries that he could afford to carry, Kiba slung his pack over his shoulder and took off out of his family's compound towards the western gate of the hidden village. He stopped short when he seen the love of his life leaning lazily against the post to the giant doors. Obviously sensing his chakra approach, Shikamaru shifted his full weight back onto his feet and approached his motionless friend.

Shikamaru greeted him with a small smile, which could have been a smirk for all Kiba knew, but he returned it with a charming smile. Shikamaru's eyes dropped to the ground before once more connecting with Kiba's and it was in that instance that he felt a shift in his world changing everything as he once knew it. But that was just his imagination getting carried away and in reality, it was simply that Shikamaru approached him with slow methodical steps until he was standing well within Kiba's personal bubble. He did a simple act and whispered simple words that had him in a daze as he passed through the open gate and made his way in the general direction of where he was headed.

Shikamaru had returned the kiss Kiba had placed in his head earlier the morning when the sun was still set, and he whispered words that had Kiba's heart soaring with acceptance and love making him eager to complete the mission quickly even though it was supposed to take at the bare minimum of 3 weeks.

"You could never be a rebound. Return to me safely, Kiba"


	4. Reaquaintance

DISCLAIMER: As if it isn't obvious, I do not own the actual characters, setting, or any media attached to the series.

Chapter 4

The hunt for his prey was particularly grueling and time consuming task. He sniffed the air catching his scent on the air at one point, then when he finally thought he was within reach of the bastard he disappeared like a apparition. This process of cat and mouse was starting to irk Kiba; if only he had the brains of his soon to be lover to rely on, then this task would be over with so much faster.

Kiba could not seem to keep his thoughts from straying to his long time love but he fought those thoughts back when his prey's scent once more tickled his nose. "Let's end this shitty game of hunter and prey, neh Akamaru?" Kiba said speaking to his doggy companion who barked in agreement before taking off with his master in tow.

The ninja pinned under him could be a shadow clone he knew but that didn't stop him from growling menacingly and demanding why the spy was running. The reconnaissance ninja quivered beneath him before rambling off his excuses: he didn't recognize Kiba's chakra, he wasn't expecting Konoha to respond so quickly, he didn't know he didn't know he didn't know… Listening to his lies made Kiba's head hurt. He knew this man was a liability and would have to die, so after gleaning as much information as he could about the current status of the happening of Kumo Kiba helped to man up with a small disarming smile causing the fellow ninja to smile back and relief. That was before he seen the wicked glint and before the man could defend himself, he was laying flat on his back, a kunai sticking out of his throat. Kiba salvaged what little the man had on him resources wise before teleporting hundreds of yards back in the direction of home, relief filling him that finally the chase was over and a danger had been avoided.

After having made sure his trail was well covered, Kiba and Akamaru finally headed home. Kiba couldn't help but think about how easy the mission had been that maybe something wasn't quite right, but not sensing anyone in the immediate vicinity of the assassination, he decided that he wouldn't kick the proverbial gift horse in the mouth and would hurry home to finally start the one relationship he had truly wanted but never had the chance to start.

It took over an hour to finally reach the western gates to the village and he couldn't be happier at the site. Hurrying through them barely greeting the guards and heading to Lady Tsunade's office, his senses were heightened with anticipation and because of those senses he was able to avoid mulling over his old teammate, Hinata.

Catching her as to balance both himself and her from the near run-in her name slipped from his tongue in vague surprise.

"Kiba?" Her eyes were questioning in her own surprise before widening with elation and wrapping him in a hug.

"Wow, Hinata, it's been like... forever since I seen you last. How have you been?" Kiba asked as they released each other and stepped back to get a good look at her. He noticed her typical baggy clothes were more fitted than he remembered, particularly around the chest area and he had to think back to exactly how long it had been since they had last hung out. He took in her face remembering how her family was and noticing the telltale signs of stress, anxiety, and the heart aching sadness of depression.

Before she could speak, however, he interrupted her with a friendly glare and spoke. "You haven't been sleeping well and you're more sad than ever now…Tell you what, after I drop my report off with Tsunade and I check on Shikamaru, me and you are gonna go hang out and catch up on all we've missed these past six months, deal?" Hinata's eyes widened, before her smile returned and she gave him a nod and small sound of approval. "Good, then I'll meet you at the Barbeque Shack at 6, okay?" Again she nodded and began to walk away when they said their goodbyes.

But before he could enter Lady Tsunade's door, Hinata stopped him by turning around and saying, "Don't be afraid to bring Shikamaru with you either." The wink at the end surprised him, but he shook it off with a shake of his head, turned the handle and entered the office when the loud voice behind to door called out to 'get his ass in here or not block the door.'

It was an hour before he was finally able to leave his leader's office, but the debriefing came with the job description, just like the likelihood of dying did, so he couldn't really complain as long as he was getting his pay. He didn't stop anywhere to eat even though his stomach was growling in protest as he walked to Shikamaru's apartment after he had sent Akamaru home to rest, but that was reasonable since he was going to go out with Hinata and eat later anyway. Stopping in front of the proper door, he barely had his hand raised before a disheveled and distinctly female Shikamaru had opened the door and dragged him inside before slamming it shut and pulling him into a rough kiss that belayed how worried his new boyfriend was while he was away.

Pulling away gasping slightly from the lack of oxygen Kiba tenderly cupped Shikamaru's face and as he leaned into it Kiba spoke with a charming smile: "I'm glad to see you too." This caused Shika to blush a light rose color before tucking his turned her head into Kiba's shoulder and breathed deeply obviously trying to calm himself. While Shikamaru's head was buried, it gave Kiba a clear view of what time it was. "Shika? Shika-baby, come on I gotta shower still." A muffled response came from his chest sounding vaguely like so. "I'm meeting Hinata in a half hour and I want to shower off the dirt and grime before I go see her alright?"

This revelation caused Shikamaru to pull back and examine Kiba in askance. "I ran into her, quite literally as a matter of fact, before I delivered my report to Tsunade. I made plans to go see her at the Barbeque Shack at 6, and it's now 5:30, so I need to hurry." This only served to earn him a confused and more than slightly suspicious look from Shikamaru as he finished pulling away and crossed his arms, his stance firm. 'Funny how he can say so much without saying a word.'

"Don't be like that, you know she's like a sister to me and I'm worried. You'll see why if you want to come along; she did invite you after all." Shikamaru's stance dropped, deflated and guilty, before he looked down at himself and asked out loud: " How am I going to go when I still look like this?" Kiba smiled cheekily before saying, "You can just go ask you are." This only served to earn him a slap upside the back of his hand to which he laughed at his he leaned in and gave Shikamaru a kiss. "I'll be back in 15." And with that said, he teleported home missing when Shikamaru was consumed by all too familiar shadows and returned to his natural form.

Shikamaru sighed with relief before heading to his shower and proceeded to get ready for the first night out with Kiba, though he doubted it would be nearly as enjoyable as it would be if they were alone. Turning off the water, he headed into his room after he dried off and opened his jeans' and shirts' drawers debating about which ones to wear before just settling on a dark wash jean and his typical mesh shirt only with a deep crimson rosette colored tightly fitted wife beater underneath. His hair was re-done and brushed before it was retied. By the time Shikamaru had made back out into his living-slash-dining area, Kiba was back and he took to time to size his new boyfriend up.

Kiba was dressed in a light blue jean wash with a black graphic tee with a foreign band as the graphic; his hair was still in it's signature mess however and the thought made him smile as he was pulled into a 'hello' kiss before he was grabbed by the hand and drug from his apartment to where they would convene with Hinata.

As they entered the shack, it didn't take them long to pick out the heiress amongst the usual crowd of people, after all not many people had porcelain skin and midnight blue hair hiding opalescent eyes; a signature of the clan she was born into. Catching her eye and watching them finally light up with something other than sadness, Kiba, still with his hand still firmly dragging along Shikamaru, walked over and sat down on the opposing bench of hers.

"Kiba, and Shikamaru, how are you?" she greeted with a smile, the warmth and love of her friend filling the emptiness that had previously been in her eyes.

They glance at each other before returning her smile and each replying that they've never been better. It was within that span that Shikamaru took the time to take in Hinata's appearance, from the bags barely covered by concealer under her eyes to the way she seemed to be wincing every time she breathed in. Kiba seemed to notice as well because he reached over the table to grasp her trembling hands on the table and asked her with the utmost earnestness if she was alright. Her eyes watered at the question and the effect caused Shika and Kiba to look at each other before nodding then they made their move; Kiba to her right and Shikamaru to her right.

"Hinata? What is it?" Kiba begged her arms around her shoulders tightening, but she only stiffened and the tears in her eyes that had yet to fall seemed to just up and vanish. This earned her confused look to which she only shook her head and replied with a soft voice: "Not now…" and they moved back to their bench before changing the subject and discussing what they had been up to, from Shikamaru's recent break-up to the last time the Rookie 9 had gotten together in celebration as a separate party from the rest of the village who were celebrating the revival of their home after Pein's attack. The was a faint hurt in Hinata's eyes when the topic of the attack came up, and that's when they remembered hearing about her bravery, and confession, but neither had heard of Naruto's reply if he even had with being busy with the restoration projects and missions they were all alternately put on.

When asked, Hinata's voice trembled but she answered that bespoke of the heartache she was still getting over. "After the attack, and ultimately my confession, there wasn't much time to talk to each other because of the restoration… It was several weeks before I even seen or heard from him again, but when I did at long last it was because he need a quick healing on a gash that was taking longer than usual to heal. I didn't question it or him until he was ready to leave…"

At this Hinata had to pause to collect herself as she was lost in the memories from that moment. Kiba was nearly ready to go into full 'brother-mode' until Shikamaru's calming hand pulled back into reality and he realize it would do her no good to have him fly off the handle; not to mention he nor anyone that he was aware of had heard from Naruto in many months so Kiba had no idea where to even begin looking for him.

Hinata finally with her wits about her continued on, "I seemed to have caught him off guard when I asked if he had remembered what I said during the fight with Pein. He nodded and sighed before turning and sitting back down in front of me…He said…He said that my love for him had not gone unnoticed, perhaps denied but not unnoticed, but he could not return my feelings or start a relationship with me even though the very thought of being with a 'sweet girl' like me warmed his heart. He told me he was leaving again perhaps longer than those first few years when he went away with Jaraiya…

"He said… Oh God, he said that he couldn't ask me to wait for him because he couldn't guarantee that he would return the favor and he refused to hurt me by carrying on such a long distance relationship…Before…Before he left my medic tent he said that my love had saved him in one of his darkest moments and he would forever remember it to save himself later should the need arise during his following journey…" Silent tears were coursing down her cheek as she smiled semi-bitterly at them, for she could never be fully bitter towards anyone. "When I asked if when he returned and if my feelings for him remained unchanged would he then consider the possibility of a relationship, he smiled and cupped my face whispering 'foolish sweet Hinata' before he kissed me…A sweet kiss to a bitter ending but it held the promise that he would return but he would not ask me to wait for him, he would not hold me back with the desperate hope that one day he would return my want of a relationship…" She took a deep breath and wiped away the tears, even as every word she spoke was sending needles of pain into her heart as it clenched tightly at the memory of her first love.

"What more could I do? I just nodded in acceptance and thanked him with a small smile that he returned as he walked through the flaps of the tent…That was the last I've seen of him…but once a month I get a letter from him with only two words and my name…" at their curious looks, she clued them in. "Be strong, Hinata."

The silence around their table was deafening as Hinata's body shook once more at the repressed tears and memories. Shikamaru was the first to speak however as he cleared his throat to dispel the silence. "But that's not the only thing that's sucking the life out of you is it? He asked but he knew the answer, but his question earned the sharp gaze of his new boyfriend to once more turn to his best friend in curiosity and examination.

It was at that point he recognized the nearly imperceptible wincing of pain. "What else are you hiding?" his eyes searched hers, worry for his dear friend causing his face to tighten.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about…" Hinata avoided their probing gazes and finally picked up one of the menus set on the table when she had first got there.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Hinata." His harsh words caused her to wince but he hardly noticed as his voice rose into a demanding tone. "Tell me, now." His last word was spoken with such finality it caused her eyes to waver but they never reached his again.

"I do not appreciate being commanded by someone I mistook as a friend. Forgive me for making that mistake." Her glare was hollow as she stood abruptly before heading out to leave only pausing to cast an apologetic look at Shikamaru and when their eyes met she was astounded by a look of recognition as he nodded at her before turning to Kiba to speak to him.

As she walked home, she had the forethought that maybe she had been too harsh and just a bit unreasonable because of the tenderness of the topic and she decided in that moment that tomorrow she would apologize to her best friend and ask for forgiveness. After all, she needed her friends to keep her strong in these moments of darkness.

"Hinata..." The cold call of her name pulled her from her thoughts as stopped mid-step on the stairs to her room. Looking back down and seeing who it was that called her, she retreated back down the stairs and bowed in half at the waist before her father speaking softly.

"Yes, Father?"


	5. The Idea and Proposal

(a/n: as a reward for sticking with this story despite the delay, I have made this twice as long as the chapters before it, making it 8 pgs instead of just 4.)

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, media or merchandise nor do I make any profit from this story

Now please enjoy this update and don't forget to review!

Chapter 5

"Well that could have gone better…" Shikamaru trailed off as him and Kiba walked back to Shikamaru's apartment after having Hinata storm off.

"Yea, you're telling me… I can't believe she actually snapped at me like that. It must be serious if whatever is wrong has Hinata snapping… Never thought I would see the day…." Kiba trailed off as they stopped outside the door leading to Shikamaru's apartment so he could unlock it.

There were several moments of silence before Kiba sensed that Shikamaru seemed to be thinking deeply on the issue and turned to face his love. "What's up?" He asked as he dragged Shikamaru over to his couch. Shikamaru shook his head as if shaking away his thoughts before he responded to Kiba's question.

"Nothing, I was just thinking is all…" He trailed off not meeting Kiba's eyes.

"About what?" Kiba insistently pestered.

"Hinata and her little secretive dilemma…" Shikamaru answered vaguely though it was a more precise answer than Kiba had expected. Normally, Shikamaru would have just shrugged it off and not even bothered to answer.

"So does that mean you have an idea of what is bothering Hinata? She was trying to hide her wincing in pain…I swear it better have been on a mission…" Kiba's brow furrowed in thought as his mind seemed to come up with the scenario that it could be Hinata's father that had cause her injury or injuries, especially since he knew their relationship had crumbled further when her cousin, Neji, had made it to Jounin and she had only just made Chunin a few months before that.

"Well you know, being with Neji had entitled me to certain events and privileges so on one of the days that there was a clan meeting I was entitled to join Neji in which I learned about all the harsh things that were being done and said to Hinata… That poor girl…" Shikamaru shook his head despairingly a vague look of grief for Kiba's friend tugging at his emotions that he normally kept buried but since the break-up had been close to the surface.

"What was said?" Kiba's face was tight with anger, how dare anyone say anything cruel about sweet, caring Hinata.

"Nothing that wasn't to be expected, the usual name calling and down grading then there was talk of putting her in Branch family Neji of course protested as this would entitle her to be branded as well as any children she might have… It really was terrible; at the end of the meeting they still hadn't reached a verdict but only because of the upset Neji caused disagreement amongst other council members…" Shikamaru had his head tilted in thought oblivious to Kiba shaking in rage so it seemed until he spoke next. "Don't get any bright ideas. Going after influential members in the leading clan of our village would be idiotic and irrational." This earned him a glare to which he could only shrug.

Kiba huffed in disbelief but knew Shikamaru was right, so when they reached the door leading into Shikamaru's house Kiba pulled aside before he could unlock his door and enter. "I'm sorry, Shika, this political shit isn't my scene but I can't stand how they are towards Hinata. She could be so much stronger if someone in her actual damned family encouraged her." Kiba sighed harshly and leaned his head onto the wall besides Shikamaru's head breathing lightly on his ear. "Thank you for coming with me though; if you hadn't been there I might have done some serious irreparable damage to my relationship with her. And I don't know how well either one of us would have handled that." Kiba pulled back and looked Shikamaru in the eye, noticing his analytical doe eyes searching his making Kiba grin disarmingly. "Don't worry, just go get some sleep; I'll be a good boy in the mean time" at this Kiba smirked as Shikamaru was tinged baby pink. Placing a light kiss on his love's cheek, Kiba pulled further away letting Shikamaru move away from the wall onto keeping them connected by the hand.

"Good night Kiba." Kiba, still grinning, kissed the top of Shikamaru's hand bowing slightly as he did. "Good night, my love." And with that Kiba waltzed away but not before he noticed Shikamaru color the most amazing shade of rose he had ever seen on anyone other than Hinata. The thought made him toss his head back and cackle as he walked home.

'And speaking of Hinata, I need to find out what's really going on…' Kiba thought as he reached the Inuzuka compound and went up to his room stripping and crawling into bed. With a contented sigh, he finally relaxed letting his worries of the day slip away as his eyes closed and he faded into unconsciousness.

Shikamaru meanwhile, was laying awake thinking about all he had learned about the Hyuuga ways while he had been dating Neji even though the thought of him still brought a bitter taste to his mouth. He couldn't help but grimace as the thought of his old lover brought about the memories of the past couple of weeks while Kiba had been away on his mission.

The past three weeks had been torturous, especially the first five days after Kiba had left in which he was hounded by Ino who dragged along Chouji, about his disappearance and why he did, and why he couldn't possibly trust his best friends enough to come find them when he was in pain.

Shikamaru, who had had enough by the end of Ino's rant as she glared and was tapping her foot in impatience waiting for an answer from her demanding questions, finally snapped. "Because I wanted some privacy! I don't like everybody knowing my business and whether you want to admit or not, Ino, you can't keep your mouth shut to save your life." After which he had stormed away, feeling a stab of guilt as he knew he had been exaggerating that last insult; after all she couldn't very well make Special Jounin if she blabbed about every detail of anything she had witnessed.

Ino had spoken much to him after that other than to apologize then promptly leave saying her father was giving her more training to help master her family's technique. Chouji however had come to see him everyday there after until about two days ago when he had been called out for a simple escort mission that would take a month considering the distance. He had wished his friend the best of luck when he heard the news; those missions were always so drab and boring, but with the distance being covered anything could happen.

Shikamaru sighed as he got his thoughts back on track. 'I'm going to have to talk to Tsunade about letting have special access to certain files of the Hyuuga clan if I'm going to help Hinata out of this jam that she's been in since her mother died.' Shikamaru shoved a hand into his hair in frustration. This was going to be a taxing process and he would be lucky if it didn't start an uprising within the clan. That was the last thing the village needed after hearing of a mounting attack from Madara and Sasuke who were leading what was left of the Akatsuki to the village. Groaning in frustration at that thought, Shikamaru flipped over and jammed his head into his pillow, groaning dramatically at the mere thought of it. He had also just remembered that he was to meet to the village council, Lady Tsunade and his father to discuss the defensive and offensive stances the village would be taking against the expectant attack.

He could feel his anxiety mounting before he pushed it down and finally quelled with thoughts of Kiba. It seemed to make it subside but he knew it would be back with a vengeance sooner or later. With a sigh, he rolled onto his left side and looked out the window at the sky above Closing his eyes, he sent a quick prayer up that everything would go alright these upcoming struggles and battles as they were.

Meanwhile, when Kiba was sleeping and Shikamaru was thinking, Hinata was finally dragging herself up to her room, tired, sore and feeling all the more helpless because of it. Why couldn't her father see that it was him and the council that wee inhibiting her progress in training by making her conform to the rigid structure of the traditional Hyuuga fighting style. With a sigh she grabbed a towel and entered her private bathroom to shower off the grime that now covered her and to relieve some tension from he muscles so that she could move more comfortably.

Turning on the water stripping and stepping beneath the hot spray, Hinata could only sigh in content as the heated water was comfortingly over her. Her thoughts drifted as she squeezed out a reasonable amount of shampoo and scrubbed her releasing another sigh in content. Her thoughts as she rinsed were of how harsh her father was being; she knew there was talk about what to do with her and she heard the hushed whispers. She knew that previously there had only been talk of putting in the branch family and branding her. She gave a soft snort at the thought. Why call them family if they're going to be branded? What kind of family brands its' members after all?

Picking up the body wash her thoughts continued as she scrubbed off the dirt. She knew that there was now talk of complete expulsion from the clan, and though the thought of leaving her sister and cousin alone with the cold people they called family made her heart twinge faintly with sympathy she also felt elation fill her. To be free of the chains that held her down would be so liberating… The only thing was that there would be a different seal put on her than the one that was put on the branch family. She remembered the talk of it, remembered that she had a distant great out who had been expelled from the clan because she too wasn't up to par with Hyuuga standards. But the talk of the seal placed on her was spoken with more fear than that of the Branch family seal and there were only two ways to avoid it: Taking one's on life for being considered a disgrace to the family as was with the Samurai of the North who had their traitor's stab themselves then be beheaded by the village leader (_seppuku_); or for Lady Tsunade to intervene saying that it would make Hinata disabled, which it very well could, and she was a valued ninja and place her in protective custody.

She shuddered at the thought of seppuku being an option, but Lady Tsunade interfering didn't look too good either since she was so weighed down with the upcoming invasion that she wouldn't get news of Hinata's distress until she was either already sealed or dead. Hinata finished rinsing her body after having shaved any unnecessary hair, turned off the water, grabbed her towel from the shower rod and proceeded to dry off.

Climbing out of her shower, she stepped onto the soft carpet lining her bathroom. Walking over to her mirror, she waited until it was clear enough for her to see herself thanks to a technique she learned the allowed he to remove water formed with hot air from surfaces and keep it off. Looking back at her reflection she noted the rings under her eyes and the faint scars trailing down beneath her towel. She slowly loosened her hold on the object and let it drop to the floor shivering briefly as she was greeted with the air. Turning so she was looking at her left side, she slowly lifted her arm to reveal the bruise the lined her side once having been a deep purple and now fading to a sickly yellow-green. The movement pulled at the muscles still making her cringed, and really it wasn't a wonder why she had worried Kiba and possibly Shikamaru as well.

There were other various bruises much smaller covering her torso, arms and legs. In that moment looking at her reflection she felt every bit as weak as everyone seemed to think she was. Tears built up, threatening to spill over her lashed before she took a deep breath and calmed her. She was tied of feeling useless and tired of every one seeing her as such. She knew what she was doing currently wasn't what she really wanted; she never wanted to be the one to take a life, she wanted to be the one saving it. Ever since she could remember, even when her mother was alive, she loved herbs and discovering what each could do and better yet what they could do together when mixed properly.

Her father disapproved however, and stopped her from pursuing being a medical ninja much to the disapproval from her mother; that's what had triggered the beginning of the downward spiral of her life. Her parents would fight regularly about the issue, her mother always pushing for her father to accept his daughter's gift and natural talent with remedies and her father always saying it was a waste of her potential, back when he still believed she had any, and that teaching her about medicine wouldn't do her any good. And then it was found that her mother was pregnant which little Hinata could not have been more happy about if it weren't for the dreaded words that there were…complications during the birthing process and they were only able to save one and not the other.

It was at the tender age of six that Hinata learned of the cruelness of a mother leaving too soon and the sudden coldness of a loathsome father who blamed his eldest daughter for every wrong turn in his life, including the execution of his twin brother, Hizashi.

Hinata sighed bitterly remembering the smack and torment she had earned sub-sequentially after her uncle's funeral; first with her father then with Neji. She just wanted to leave… Though admittedly things had been increasingly better between her and her cousin but things were negligible between her and her father, not to mention her sister who, following the example set by their father, treated her coldly and shunned her for being weak. 'If only they knew how strong I could have been with their love…" Hinata thought as she once more wrapped herself in her towel and opened the bathroom's door entering back into her room to get dressed.

Pulling her undergarments and nightgown, she towel dried her hair, afterwards hanging her towel on her desks chair. Moving aside the covers and crawling beneath before covering herself, she laid down on her bed still deep in thought. She really wanted to pursue the life of a medical ninja but to do so would go strictly against the rules of a traditional Hyuuga. Not one Hyuuga before her had ever had the will to do so before nor the want to be a medic she supposed, but she knew with her eyes if kept training them as she had been then she could really be a great asset in the hospital and in the field of battle and the only things holding her back as they had always done are her father and the Hyuuga rules enforced strictly by the council. Sigh in frustration, Hinata turned and uncharacteristically punched her pillow. She was at her limit to how much disrespect and down-grading she could take. With another sigh, this time much more bitter, she rolled back over and made her decision. She would continue on with her secretive path of training that her father nor anyone else knew anything about, other than a certain knuckle head who was currently miles away and still had no idea that it had been her at the waterfall that night so long ago, and she would ask Lady Tsunade in person if she would be willing to take on another apprentice.

With a contented sigh at this decision, Hinata finally drifted off to sleep, much more at peace with herself than she could ever achieve during the regulated two hours she was supposed to meditate as every other Hyuuga must, whether they had the _Byakugan_ or not.

Kiba woke with a wide yawn and an even wider stretch before being slammed with a guilt that he didn't remember falling asleep with. Then he remembered yesterday, knowing he had been too tired from the mission and the events that followed his return home. Getting up quickly for a shower and food, he unexpectedly hit the floor with a rather loud thud. Growling at the offending blanket that was wrapped around his ankle, he kicked it off and got back up and headed to the bathroom. After a thorough scrub down and shampoo, he got out, dried off, brushed his teeth and proceeded into his room to get dressed in his usual ninja garb.

He headed down into his kitchen where he seen his mother with a plate of untouched waffles with a nice layout of fruit and a glass of orange juice before her. "So I take it Hana made breakfast this morning?" Kiba asked with a shit-eating grin when he seen the annoyed tick in his mother's temple throb in annoyance.

"Yes, now eat before I decide the pups deserve a treat." Kiba snorted in derision when he heard this earning an unfamiliar smile from his mother as he knew she would never give the dogs anything other than the special dog food their family specialized in.

"So how was your mission son?" Tsume asked leaning on her forearms as he dug into his plate of breakfast.

"It was okay, took too damn long to finally pin down the bastard and glean as much info from him before I killed him though." Kiba said between bites of food. Tsume could of chuckle in amusement at what Kiba had said and at Kiba's hurried eating manners.

"Got somewhere to be?" Kiba stopped short as if just taking in how fast he was eating and gulped down his mouthful of food smartly before answering.

"Yeah, I gotta give my written report to the mission desk then I'm meeting up with Shika to see if he has any idea on how to help Hinata." Tsume noted how Kiba's eyes gleamed differently as he said each person's name and it was with that that she realized what had happened.

"You finally hooked up with that kid didn't you?" Kiba looked taken aback before blushing madly, but he didn't deny and when his mother started cackling like the madwoman that he knew she was, he embarrassingly told her to "shut the fuck up" and pushed at her shoulder non-too-gently and standing up to put his dishes in the sink when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh I'm only teasing, Kiba, I know you love that boy, more than you would eve be willing to admit out loud and I know he would be good for you. So don't worry about you dish and go get your lover boy." She said with a wink at the end officially scarring Kiba emotionally as he exclaimed in a loud unbecoming tone that wasn't suited for a man his age. His mother just shooed him out of the house, to which he left shaking his head with a faint chuckle as he walked to the village leader's tower to turn in his report.

However with Shikamaru, he was just getting up at the same time that Kiba was entering Lady Tsunade's tower and headed towards the mission desk. Rolling out of bed, his dream slowly came back to him; it would seem that he had thought of a good solid plan in his sleep, but he would need to check on a few Hyuuga guidelines and rules before he gave the plan a go. As he entered his bathroom, he opted for a quick scrub down and was out in fifteen minutes. Pulling on his familiar uniform, he headed out unknowingly in the same direction of Kiba.

It was as he was on the floor below the village leader's office that he bumped into someone on the stairs who was just coming from the direction of the mission's office. Looking up, he was startled to find it was Kiba whom he had bumped into, but non-the-less he was happy to see him. He greeted him however with his usual smirk and laid back posture. Kiba seen it and looked disapproving as he tugged Shikamaru towards himself and wrapped him in his arms. Kiba looked down into startled doe brown eyes while smile warmly. "It's good to see you too, Shika." He said it semi-sarcastically and with a hint of annoyance but one could definitely tell the Kiba was absolutely thrilled to be able to finally hold Shikamaru that close to himself.

Shikamaru colored nicely at the close proximity and slowly pulled himself from Kiba's loving embrace but not before placing a light peck on his cheek. Kiba let him go reluctantly before asking what he was doing in the tower. It was then that Shikamaru remembered his plan and relayed it briefly to Kiba. He nodded along easily following and by the end he was grinning in a way that could only be described as with complete and utter lunacy.

"Let's do it!" Kiba exclaimed, grabbing Shikamaru's hand and dragging him up to the last floor to see their leader to talk of Shikamaru's plan.

Hinata rolled out of bed before either Kiba or Shikamaru had been given a hint of consciousness and quickly went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth before getting dressed and doing a quick brush through of her hair she deemed it suitable before leaving, for once, without her baggy jacket.

Her previous night's thought process had given her a major courage and self-confidence boost that she couldn't help but want to show it even if it was as simple as not bringing her jacket with her. She couldn't believe how much making such a simple decision had changed her in so short a period of time. She stopped briefly in her family's kitchen and grabbed a freshly made banana nut muffin before turning and leaving, thankfully having no run-ins with any of her "family" members. She ate the muffin as she walked, barely noting the stares she got, but she did notice and the muffin was a welcome distraction to keep her hands busy. She had it finished just before she entered the tower and threw away the wrapper in a garbage can placed just inside the doorway then proceeded to rush up the long stairway to Lady Tsunade.

She stopped just outside the door and knocked where she was met with a muted 'Come in' to which proceeded to turn the doorknob and entered the leader's office.

"Lady Tsunade," Hinata greeted with a formal bow. Tsunade waved off her assistant who reluctantly left but not before nodding in greeting to Hinata with a faint smile.

"Well, Princess Hinata, isn't this a surprise? I never thought I'd see the day when you utilized the body of a female ninja." Tsunade said as her way of greeting, steepeling her fingers to meet as her elbows dug into the desk.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade, but it is now that I have decided to solidify my own individual path that I have decided to cut away my shyness and embrace my inner self." Hinata said still bowed.

"Please, come sit before me and speak of what made you take your own path." Hinata gratefully unbent herself from her bowed position and sat in the seat before her leader.

"You know of my reasoning, Lady Tsunade. I am tired of my clan and how the treat me. I would like to embark upon you my willingness to become another of your apprentices. However, this is strictly against Hyuuga tradition and I have been forbidden from even mentioning it while in the same vicinity of my father and clan council. I would like to prove my usefulness to you as a medic under your tutelage and also your protection as leader of our village. My only other option would be to commit seppuku or to become a missing ninja all together. But I love this village and I do not want to give up my entitlement to being a citizen and a dedicated ninja. I know I will excel in medicine and with my eyes it with make aligning and…." She was cut of from speaking further when Tsunade raised her hand to silence her rambling.

"Hinata, it would be a great risk to go against Hyuuga council just to use you as a prospective medic ninja when you have showed no interest before hand to myself or my staff." At this Hinata looked near tears. She knew her leader was right in saying that it would be a great risk; it could cause an upheaval and rebellion within the village that was unnecessary at this time so close to another invasion. She stood slowly starting to apologize for the suggestion when she was once more cut off, and though she was a little annoyed at once more being interrupted she listened heartily.

"However, that does not mean I will dismiss this idea of yours as I have been trying to convince to Hyuuga, your father and council in particular, that the _Byakugan _would be a great asset to the medical field for the reasons you started listing." Tsunade was smiling and Hinata was standing there trying not to look too hopeful.

"A-are you saying what I think you're saying Lady Tsunade?" Hinata faltered in the beginning her eyes searching her leaders for any sign of a negative answer. Tsunade nodded and Hinata could not help the bright smile that blossomed over her face nor could she stop herself from leaping over the desk and squeezing the life out of her leader in happiness.

"Alright, alright Hinata, you can let go." Hinata quickly and bashfully back away apologizing though as she was still grinning and thanking her inbetween each apology causing Tsunade to laugh outright before calming herself and at Tsunade steely expression Hinata braced herself for the worst.

"Now Hinata, you are under the protection of your village leader and council and are hereby ordered to pack your thing at the Hyuuga compound and move into the military barracks until you can otherwise afford or find someplace else to live." Hinata nodded vigorously, obviously excited and not at all caring at what her father might say in opposition. "You will also be receiving the brand of protection that you must keep visible at all times around the village, on missions of course, it is to be covered up." Hinata once more nodded this time less vigorously and only once. The office door opened and a man she knew went by the name of Ibiki entered carrying a tag.

Since her top didn't have any sleeves the mark would go on her bicep so it would be clearly noticeable. Ibiki placed the tag on her arm sealing it down so it wouldn't move and Lady Tsunade approached making the hand signs for the protective seal that was being bestowed upon her. As Tsunade made the last hand sign and placed both hands on either long side of the note, it made a small poof and disappeared leaving Hinata's arm stinging unpleasantly. Hinata took out one of the many salves she kept on her and rubbed someone her new tattoo it would seem. It was clearly noticeable by watching he face to tell when the stinging faded thanks to the numbing agent she had concocted.

"Congratulations, Hinata. We will start your official training tomorrow…" Lady Tsunade, Hinata and Ibiki's meeting was thusly interrupted by the office door being slammed open and a loud exclamation leaving their ears ringing.

"GRANNY TSUNADE!"


	6. Her in His Thoughts

SO, I just wanted to do a special shout-out to a special reviewer: _haosthunder, _who gave me the motivation to finally buck-up and finish writing chapter 6. Sorry if it's a little short... and scattered but it shouldn't be until you get to the end of the chapter but that's mostly purposeful as it is supposed to show the inner workings of someone's thoughts, not actually be the proper flowing guidelines of a story but it should all make sense. SO here's to the long awaited 4.5 pgs of Moving On.

-There are minor changes to this, mostly some character inner-turmoil and a note about the next installment at the bottom-

PS. Don't own nothin' but the plot of this story. ;p

Chapter 6

"What did I tell you about calling me that, BRAT!" Tsunade exclaimed sending the person who had interrupted into the opposing wall. Everyone in the room was stunned; shocked really at realizing who it was that had interrupted. As the blonde stood up dusting himself off, everyone watched his every movement taking in how he had changed since he left that day once more to learn and grow and maybe take out some enemies along the way.

"Naruto…" Tsunade was the first to find her voice and at hearing it brought blue eyes to her own honey brown and he grinned.

"Aw, don't go getting all weepy eyed granny," Naruto said calmly approaching to give her a hug even though she was glaring at the name and she embraced him tightly missing her godson.

As he pulled away he noticed the two other people in the room; one he knew was the lead of the torture section of the Intelligence and Torture branch of information gathering and the other person was a female around 5'6", maybe 5'7", without the regulated female ninja shoes every female had to wear. He had to say she looked faintly familiar with the Hyuuga eyes and the faint blush that was clouding her cheeks. An image of a long haired beauty professing her love for him entered his mind and he couldn't help but be astounded at the realization.

"Hinata…" She had been wondering if he would recognize her without her usual attire on and it would seem that he did which made her cheeks color just ever so slightly more than they already were.

"I'm faintly surprised you recognize her without her jacket on." Tsunade voiced the thought that had been the core of everyone's in those few passing seconds causing Naruto to blush darker than Hinata had in that moment. Naruto simply shook his head to dispel his thoughts before turning back to face Tsunade and just as he was about to speak the door opened to reveal Shizune, Kiba and, being dragged along, Shikamaru.

"Naruto…" The couple voiced as one and when Naruto seen their hands linked he began cackling before shouting, "Well it's about time you two." Thusly, they were the next to blush before they took in the other occupants of the room.

"Hinata, Ibiki… Why are…. What's up with the protection seal on Hinata?" This question was voiced by Kiba, as Shikamaru clearly had connected all the dots already, who glared at the spot on his friends arm.

"Well you three might as well come in so we can discuss this as I'm sure you'd like to know what's just been established." Kiba and Shikamaru both nodded and entered the room followed by Shizune who had closed the door.

It took an hour to explain everything because Kiba kept interrupting outraged by how Lord Hiashi had treated his first born, but then so was Naruto but he hid it all in a glare he placed over Tsunade's shoulder, looking out the window to the view of the sky outside. When the explanations were done there was a still, stifling silence until Shikamaru decided to break it with an offer.

"You could move in with me, Hinata." The reaction he got was one of barely contained surprised from everyone except Ibiki who was pretending like he wasn't even there to begin with. When the silence continued, Shikmaru decided to explain if only briefly, "I broke up with Neji as you well know a little less than a month ago so I'm home alone when not missions, and since I feel it's too early to have Kiba move in, it would be nice for some company as it is a three story house with four decent sized bedrooms, two bathrooms, a separate kitchen, dining room and living room. And you'd have to split rent of course and help with the basic stuff but I don't think I have to explain that to you."

Hinata grinned gratefully and nodded, whispering a faint 'thank-you' her surprise still evident, as well as her happiness, which earned her a small smile and nod from Shikamaru.

"Well since Shikamaru covered that trouble for me, everyone but Ibiki and Naruto leave. We have things to discuss." Everyone not welcome bowed and left, leaving the three occupants to discuss Naruto's whereabouts and travels.

"Are ready to go get your things now, Hinata?" Shikamaru asked as the trio walked through town.

Hinata nodded eagerly in response as Kiba trailed behind them uncharacteristically quiet as they made their way to the Hyuuga compound. As much as he did not want to have a confrontation for fear of exploding with self-righteous anger at how he had treated his daughter, Kiba knew that he had to with-hold such thoughts if he did not want to start a dispute within the village; something Lady Tsunade did not need bearing upon her shoulders with the village so close to being at war. He wanted to defend his friend, but ultimately it was not worth it even though Kiba would love nothing more than cramming his fist down Hiashi's throat.

Glancing up ahead to Shikamaru, his love, and Hinata, his best friend, he knew he could not step out of line; 'For their sakes...' He thought with a clenched fist.

Though outwardly she was appearing eager to start her new life, Hinata was nervous, very nervous and her breathing was coming in pants with her hands becoming slick with perspiration and her face paling slightly more than usual. Her thoughts on her father's possible reaction were going in two different directions at once. What if, when she announced she was leaving, he was remorseful and realized the potential in her he was inhibiting with his cold demeanor? On the other hand, what if he was aloof and cared less than he usually did about her? Her thoughts were leaning more towards the latter than the formal situation and it had her ringing her hands in distress. She loved her father, honestly she did, but knowing he did not feel the same or would not even show it if he did, sent her stomach tumbling and her heart clenching at the thought of what she was going to be doing.

At the sight of the giant wrought-iron gate, one could see how the slumped distraught posture of Hinata turned rigid with fear and anxiety as they gradually drew closer. A hand on either shoulder caused her to twist her head from side to side looking from Kiba to Shikamaru and back again.

"Don't worry, Hinata, we're here for you." This thought, though heart-warming, did nothing to dispel Hinata's fear as she bit her lip in a nervous, habitual way as the guards to the compound let them pass without hesitance. Her hands began to wring themselves more fervently around each other with every step they took through the house in the process of reaching the former princess' room.

With her hand on her bedroom door's knob, she sighed with relief thinking she had escaped from having to confront her father and that he would learn of her self-inflicted exile from the clan through the village leader's letter; meaning she could avoid any confrontation with him. However, that was quickly banished with a sharp inhale as she felt the surrounding atmosphere drop several degrees as the door swung to reveal her father thoroughly ruffled to his core. The anger rolling off of him was aimed at her in steady waves, the comforting hand on her back doing nothing now to warm her under the cold gaze as her father held up a piece of parchment and demanded answers.

"What is this about,_ daughter_?" The title was so venomously spat, instead of spoken with adoration and love, that Hinata could not help but cringe and she felt her two friends behind her tense, obviously ready to spring should Hiashi physically try to take his anger out on his daughter. With a shuddering breath, Hinata once more steeled herself finding some left over courage from that morning, drawing strength from the fact that he could do nothing but watch as she left since she already had the 'Seal of Protection.' "Well?" He spat furiously.

Her eyes narrowed in return as she spoke, smirking when she seen her father hesitate briefly at her outright disobedience. "I am your daughter only by blood and _dearest_ Father, and that is informing you of what I am here to do: to collect my things and move into a place where love knows no bounds." She looked between her two friends as they smiled with a tense tenderness that was stiff given the current situation.

"You are willing to throw away your title as Princess to move in with these…Homosexuals!" The last word was spat with disgust and the look on Hiashi's face held nothing but contempt as Shikamaru had to hold Kiba back from attacking the Lord of the house.

"You weren't so against them when it was a benefit to you and your _precious_ clan. And don't you ever, EVER, try and degrade a love as true as theirs. I may love Neji as my brother and kin but he did Shikamaru wrong by sneaking around behind his back, but even that was finding his own happiness. And what do you have to show for yours, dearest _Father_?" The title was spat like a venomous curse as she finished by crossing her arms with finality and contempt as she felt the looks of approval from her friends behind her, knowing he would not, _could not_, answer.

Her father seemed flabbergasted before he turned outraged, his face now sickly shades of red and purple. He shook with barely contained anger as he stormed passed them, knocking shoulders with his daughter and her friends, only pausing briefly to whisper his last stabs to her heart.

"You were never any daughter of mine, you illegitimate whore." The insult rolled off his tongue like poison causing tears to threaten in her eyes as he continued on his way.

Behind him, Kiba fist shook ready to explode but when Shikamaru placed his hand on his shoulder, getting his attention and shaking his head before nodding it towards Hinata, Kiba calmed because of the broken look Hinata held in her eyes as the slowly began to dull at the insult; they both approached her gently pulling her the rest of the way into her soon-to-be-old room and closing the door behind them.

"Are you going to be okay, Hinata?" Shikamaru asked in an uncommonly quiet tone. He received only a nod in return as they began pulling clothes out of her small walk-in closet and dresser. She took out a few scrolls to seal her clothes in; made the hands signs and the piles disappeared in a puff of smoke, now tightly secured in her scrolls. With that done, Hinata looked around her room for other things she would be bringing with her and that happened to be some jewelry both from her mother previously and some new things from past birthdays and holidays mostly from friends and Neji, and those too were sealed in a scroll. Hinata then seemed hesitant to leave looking around her room nervously in deep thought. With a deep breath Kiba spoke kindly, convincing her that there was no point hanging around for much longer.

"Come on, Hinata. There's no use hanging around any longer than necessary. Is there anyone here you want to say good-bye to?" Hinata shook her head at the question, after it isn't like any of her family really cared, and that Neji was on a mission at the moment so he would find out about her leaving during the next clan meeting as he had done since he had initially moved out to keep up with clan politics. With that acknowledgement, they left her room, went down the stairs they came up and exited the compound the way they came in with little fuss or hassle. Once they were a block or two away, Hinata finally seemed to breathe easily. With the sigh she expelled followed chuckles from the two men beside her. She turned a grinning face upon each and the dread drifted away as if it were never there.

As they walked Kiba seemed to drift further ahead his head tilted slightly back, basking in the warmth of the day, with his hands casually in his pockets leaving Shikamaru and Hinata to dally on behind him.

Inconspicuously bumping into her to get Hinata's attention, Shikamaru cleared his throat once he had her attention.

"I just wanted to say thanks, for what you said back there… Defending Kiba and I to your father and also what you said about Neji and I…I really appreciate it…" And though he struggled with his words Hinata felt the warmth and sincerity of the 'thank-you'. She smiled benignly; for once in such a long time since her mother died she was happy, truly and completely happy.

Well maybe not completely; she could think of one thing that would make her feel like she was flying over top of the moon. Of course it was a person not merely just any object of affection it was:

"HEY HINATA! AND YOU GUYS!"

…Nauto…

After the debriefing with Tsunade and Ibiki, Naruto was left to his own devises, and as such he could only think about one thing…one person to be more precise…It had been such a long time since he last seen her face, so sad and distraught as it had been at that time because he would be leaving again after what seemed like such a short time back in the village. He wished he could have told Hinata that he would wait until they were as old as Jaraiya and Tsunade if he had to in order to be with her…But he couldn't hold out the same hope that she would hang on that long, after all he had no idea when or if he would even be back this time around. But he was glad he had returned after all, and so soon to top it off. However, that wasn't necessarily cause for a celebration in his book considering the only thing that had him coming back so soon was that there was news of a definite strike on his home village in a month…

He would take that time to train insanely of course, but also to finally shower Hinata with the love he had been holding onto…just for her…He thought about her smile and how she was dressed when he arrived at Tsunade's office. He never knew a girl, no a woman, could look as good as she did with that outfit, modest in comparison to most other females in her line of work. He thoughts also echoed the last 10 minutes of the conversation with Tsunade.

She had told him of how Hinata's bravery and intellect during the months that he had been gone had grown, and that now her confidence would be boosted as well since she was cutting that clan that dared to call themselves her family out of her life for good. She was going to pursue her dream of being the best medic ninja the world had ever seen, and he knew without a doubt that, especially since she had an advantage like the _Byakugan_, she would far surpass Tsunade's expectations as well as her own.

He let out a dreamy sigh and ruffled his hair a bit as if shifting his thoughts would be that easy. Now that he was back, his mind seemed to never want her to leave his thoughts. He didn't mind really but it was a bit distracting…he was just thankfully that the _Rasengan_ wasn't the only thing Jaraiya taught him to have control over, but also his body when his mind was filled with such…provocative thoughts as they were.

Sitting up in his old spot, high above the village atop the Leaders of the hidden village heads he sighed in thought. The way she had held herself so tall and proudly in Tsunade's office warmed his heart and his blood especially when he realized the self-righteous attitude didn't wither upon his entry to the room. He always knew she had it in her to be and do whatever she wanted, at least when she was finally able to escape the grasp of her father and his clan.

Which sent his blood stirring for a completely different reason; he could kill that man for the hell he had put such a beautiful and tender girl through; a girl who was also his daughter, but that didn't seem to mean anything to that Hyuuga-bastard who called himself her father let alone her kin.

Standing up and stretching he decided to go browse the village, maybe run into a few of his old buddies while he was at it. He didn't realize the actual direction he had headed in until he noticed faintly in the distance the three figures that had disappeared soon after his arrival at Granny Tsunade's office.

"HEY HINATA! AND YOU GUYS!"

His shout had received some odd stares even from the two friends walking beside the most beautiful woman that he had his heart set on making his in every way possible as soon as she agreed to him courting her. That long, dark indigo hair could be picked out easily by him in a sea of people, no matter how vast; he would always find her and return.

Normally I wouldn't put another note in, but just wanted some input on whether I should end it here or continue. I definitely have some ideas on where to continue it, but it also seems like a perfect spot to end it. Anyway, review and let me know that way. Again sorry it is nearly 2000 words less than last chapter but (again) this seems like the perfect spot to end it...let me know bye bye now

-Update as of 1-16-12-

I realize it's been such a long time since I've posted another chapter. But this needed some editing and reading through kind of motivated to at least write some more on the following chapter which at the moment is barely a page long... I think... Anyway, that also means that, No, I will not be stopping this story here. So sorry for the ridiculous delay but I have no excuses because that's all the reasons for not updating would be: excuses. The last thing I want to mention is that I will hopefully be able to fix more of the focus on the main couple as I have deviated from that path... If anyone has any ideas for the story pm me or leave it in a review and I'll consider putting it in the story or maybe basing a different story off of it. And if you submit the idea, you are giving me permission to use it; let that be dully noted. SIncerely, IET


	7. It's Okay to Feel

Chapter 7

As Naruto approached, Hinata grew increasingly tensed but the light blush adorning her cheeks led Shikamaru and Kiba to the conclusion that it was not because she was upset but rather she was trying not to do her age old habit of fainting. The smile that slowly eased onto her face also was a dead give-away. Hinata nervously shifted the book bag on her shoulders containing the scrolls with her personals sealed into them as Naruto drew closer.

"Hey, guys where are you headed?" Naruto asked stopping calmly in front of the trio as if he hadn't sprinted from the spot on top of the village's previous leader's mountain heads.

"Home," Shikamaru said with his usual wearied tone. Kiba clapped a hand on his boyfriend's and best friend's shoulders grinning at the thought, even if he wasn't also moving in.

"That's great! Can I come?" Naruto asked excitedly, eyes shining hopefully, looking more at Hinata for permission than Shikamaru. Hinata's eyes shifted from Naruto to Shikamaru, and when she received a nod from him, her eyes lit up like fireworks and her smile left Naruto's mouth dry.

"Sure, Na-ru-to…" She said cutely as she had foregone her childhood stutter for exaggerating his name with a certain sweetness that made Naruto's mouth water where it had previously been dry. And as he also noticed she was still wearing her outfit from that morning in Lady Tsunade's office, his mouth could only salivate more; that is until he seen the elder-brother-look from Kiba that he was receiving because of his reaction. He gulped dramatically and chuckled nervously, before he spoke quickly his voice cracking slightly due to his anxiety.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Let's go!"

Naruto and Kiba started up a conversation with Hinata about how gathering her things had went thus leaving Shikamaru to ponder over some plaguing thoughts. The thoughts seemed to subdue him into his more withdrawn persona. He could feel his anxiety flicker as the thought that had been reoccurring after the first few weeks after he had gotten together with Kiba was once more addling at his mind.

What had kept him with Neji for so long? They were far too alike when it came to not speaking about what was troubling one another that there could hardly have been any substantial emotional connection. Though, admittedly, the more he thought about it the less it seemed likely that they could have been anything more than friends with benefits as it were.

As he thought back to how their relationship had started, he realized that it had been he who had done the pursuing; an unusual thing to discover about himself indeed. Neji had never really wanted to be held by the possible commitment that they might have made had he not met Sai. Perhaps, in actuality, he had not denied Shikamaru to see where things would go or even simply just curiosity, and when Shikamaru had told the leader of the Hyuuga's his family's coveted secret he had been made to keep a commitment he didn't truly want in the first place. The thought made Shikamaru's heart clench uncomfortably as his anxiety rose.

He also came to the conclusion that they each had needed someone who was not afraid to push past the emotional barrier, much as they had found in Sai and Kiba respectively. A gentle squeeze on his left hip drew him from his thoughts, and he found his eyes widen with surprise as they met with Kiba's feral orbs. He looked ahead of them to note that Hinata and Naruto were pleasantly chatting away, and not just Naruto blabbing on and on about something but Hinata also putting in her own side of the conversation with equal measure and exuberance to Naruto's.

"I could smell your anxiety rising with every step we took. What's up, Shikamaru? You seemed fine not but ten minutes ago…" Kiba's eyes were searching as they traced Shikamaru's face tenderly and noted the sadness in his boyfriend's eyes with concern. Upon seeing the worry light Kiba's eyes, Shikamaru quickly shook his previous thoughts away.

"Nothing is up Kiba… I was just thinking is all…"At the look he got when he said that Shikamaru knew that Kiba did not believe that nothing was wrong and that he seemed to catch on to where Shikamaru's thought process had gone.

"There's no sense in beating yourself up over him. Things probably wouldn't be as they are now if the trouble that was caused hadn't happened…Do you get what I'm trying to say Shika?" It was the first occurrence of this nickname from Kiba, and it made his heart lift from the despair it had been sliding back into.

A softly whispered 'thank-you' was Kiba's answer that made him grin ear-to-ear, to pull his love closer and place a light kiss upon his cheek as he said, "That's what I'm here for babe." A light coloring darkened Shikamaru's already tan complexion and Kiba chuckled relinquishing his tight grip and settling with simply walking side-by-side with Shikamaru. A few more moments of silence between them was all Kiba could stand as he broke it with a question.

"So, how long do you think Naruto will last before he finally gets the balls to ask out Hinata?" Shikamaru chuckled and shook his head.

"Probably not much longer than a week or two…" As this was said their group reached Shikamaru's house where he unlocked the door. "Do you want a tour Hinata, or do you want to wait until our guests leave?" He asked with a conspiratorial smirk toward the only female in the group.

"I think I should just pick out my room for now and I can find everything else pretty easily," She said softly, alternating between her bloodline trait being on or off so he caught on. It caused everyone to chuckle, and he led the way to the vacant rooms while Kiba and Naruto hung back in the first room they had entered upon passing through the front door which just so happened to be the living room

"So, Naruto… How have you been, Blondie?" Kiba asked as he flopped down on the one side of the "L" shaped couch while Naruto sat on the other and both propped their feet up on the coffee table; both took note of how considerably more comfortable it was than any piece of furniture they had in their own apartments.

"I've been busy mostly training and the what-not, but you know that already. I'm extremely relieved now to finally be home." He said grinning.

"I bet," Kiba said conspiratorially making Naruto's grin drop slightly and his eyebrow to rise. "Oh, don't think I haven't seen the looks you gave Hinata…" This caused Naruto to laugh.

"Of course you did, being another older brother figure to her you would be one of the ones to be on the look out for guys falling for her…"

"Not so much as the guys falling for her but also the guy she falls for in return." At this, Kiba bright eyes and smile had dropped along with Naruto's as the atmosphere turned tense.

"…I see…" Naruto said thoughtfully, and for once it looked as though he really did understand what was underneath that sentiment.

"Good, then I don't have to warn you that if you break her heart again, I will be coming after you even if it kills me…" And there was a light tone to this because they both knew Kiba couldn't take him on and wouldn't for that matter because it would only hurt his little sister figure more; but there was also a seriousness that made Naruto jerk a curt nod at knowing that Kiba knew he couldn't defeat Naruto, but that wouldn't stop him from getting his own form of vindication if Naruto did hurt Hinata.

A few minutes of awkwardness passed after that before it was broken with gentle laughter coming from the hallway that Hinata and Shikamaru had disappeared down. The source was revealed as Hinata walking through the archway still laughing with a slightly sulking Shikamaru ambling through as well.

"It did not look that girly…" He repeated which only made Hinata release more of that infectious laughter as it made Naruto and Kiba smile warmly at the sight of their loved ones.

"Shikamaru, you have become a dear friend of mine, and friends are honest with each other so I must tell you honestly: I did not expect you of all people to have such a feminine outfit in your closet, whether it was given to you as a gag gift or not…" And as she finished this, Shikamaru released a sigh of 'troublesome' casting a blushing glance Kiba and Naruto's way before wondering off to the kitchen mumbling about perverted shy chicks with eyes that can see through walls. When she took a cautious seat on the couch, because of seeing the glint catch Kiba's eye, she was immediately bombarded by questions about what the outfit was. What surprised her more was that Naruto had the same look, except more devious and much like that of a delinquent who had gotten their hands on the answers to a big test, whereas Kiba's look was more of one that promised pleasure though at what extent would be impossible to determine.

However the clattering from the kitchen made her not answer; she did not want to see her friend, and now house mate, die of embarrassment should Naruto, or Kiba for that matter, get their hands on that bit of information that she withheld. She chuckled when they both pouted after she said her lips were sealed on that secret, and could not help positively cackling when they both tried begging.

In order to get away from them, she entered through the doorway that she seen Shikamaru pass through earlier. As she entered, she noticed the look on his face and couldn't help but to feel slightly guilty for finishing their conversation in front of the boys. At hearing her approach, Shikamaru glanced up from where he was cubing red skinned potatoes damp from having been washed, and throwing them into a pot of water to eventually be boiled and mashed. He threw a small smile her way before turning back to the task at hand.

"Is there anything I can help with, Shikamaru?" She asked kindly, still feeling slightly guilty for having embarrassed her dear friend.

"Actually, you could take over this so I can cut the steaks over there, unless you know how?" At this Shikamaru looked back to see her response that was simply Hinata shaking her head. He handed over the knife he was using to cut the potatoes to her and moved to the other side of the stove where the short loin lay in wait for him to shape into four eight-ounce steaks. They drifted into relative silence as they continued on with their task until Hinata had cut up all of the potatoes and gently placed them into the pot by the handful until the bowl she was using to hold them was empty and Shikamaru had finished cutting all of the short loin into eight steaks and had wrapped the extra four while placing the rest on the grilling side of the stove that had just reached a hot enough temperature to start cooking. As one side cooked Shikamaru got down a few simple seasonings such as garlic and season salt to sprinkle on the steaks as they cooked.

As he slowly worked at figuring out which seasons he knew would make the steaks taste exceptional, he heard a soft chuckle that could have only come from his new flat mate. He cast his gaze sideways to see Hinata looking at him with an endearing gaze. This made him curiously ask what it was that she thought was so funny.

She was hesitant to answer, but when Shikamaru turned down the steaks and faced her, she knew there was no escaping even with the exit so close. "Well…Don't take this the wrong way or anything…But you reminded me of my mother just then, when you were picking out the seasonings and talking to yourself as you did so, trying to remember how each tasted when combined…." She seemed to just trail off as her eyes grew with moisture. Shikamaru could not feel ill will at having such a compliment from a girl who he knew had lost her mother at a young age.

"There's no shame in missing her, you know… Even though it's been so long since she died." Shikamaru said comfortingly as he reached out and set a gentle, but firm, hand on her shoulder. She nodded gently, ducking her chin slightly as she carefully wiped at the tears gathering in her eyes. "Now, let's get back to dinner shall we?" he suggested as he turned back around to give her a moment to herself and turned the steaks back up, pressing on them gently to see if they were close to being done. Then, he set about heating up some home grown corn after shearing and scraping off the kernels to cook.

Meanwhile with Kiba and Naruto in the living room:

After Kiba had threatened Naruto to not harm his little sister, they had moved on to talk about Shikamaru and how, even though he seemed happy, there was a strong underlying feeling of depression that needed to be dealt with.

"Do you think that I should recommend to Lady Tsunade to have him mentally examined by Inoichi? Or perhaps set him up for counseling?" The whispered thought of concern passed from Naruto's lips to Kiba's ears making him snarl in disgust at the thought.

"He is not _crazy_!" He hissed vehemently, offended that Naruto would even suggest such a thing.

"I'm not saying he's crazy. I'm simply suggesting that perhaps he needs someone to talk to about what's been happening to him these past few years; someone professional…" He added that last part quickly at seeing that Kiba was about to make a rebuttal. He still looked offended that Naruto would insinuate that Shikamaru was crazy and that he couldn't talk to him. But then, Kiba also realized that Shikamaru needed something that he couldn't get from Kiba, and since they had just gotten together within the past couple of weeks, it was unlikely that Shikamaru would be coming to him or anyone else for that matter.

"I'm not comfortable going behind his back to set him up a psychological evaluation…He'll figure it out sooner or later either way…" Kiba said, dropping into a troubled, defeated posture.

"But there is no other way to help Kiba. You can't protect him from himself; it isn't going to work. He needs professional help…" Naruto interjected before Kiba could continue talking himself out of setting up a psychiatric appointment with Inoichi. Kiba sighed; he knew it was useless to argue further but as he nodded his head in resignation, he could not help but feel immensely guilty.

The topic changed after the decision was reached that they would approach Lady Tsunade the next day, they caught the scent of something delicious filling the air with a delicious aroma. They could not help but to salivate as they followed their noses to the kitchen's doorway.

In the kitchen:

After she calmed down, Hinata busied herself with the little bit of dishes that were in the sink as the dinner was finished and Shikamaru turned off the stove. She and he set the table with the dining set Ino had given him as a gift when he moved into the house. After the table was set and the food was placed on top of the matching pot holder as to not burn the table cloth, Hinata said she would go get the guys; not that she had to go very far, since they could smell the food from the living room and were practically drooling in the kitchen's doorway.

They rushed to the table where Shikamaru was already seated and sat themselves down before saying a quick prayer of thanks and then digging into the meal set before them. There was a light pleasant conversational flow as all four of them ate and Shikamaru could not help the slight grin at finally feeling at home within his own house. No longer did he feel sheltered and ostracized when he entered; a feeling he could not get away from when living with his parents who hadn't been able to accept him over something that could revolutionize the homosexual world. Of course that could only happen if his _ability_ as it were could be copied, but he knew it could not; not unless the person had his family's genes. Shaking the thoughts from his mind mentally, he returned to the light-hearted conversation with ease, as if he had never spaced out.

They wrapped up dinner both Naruto and Kiba rubbing their stomachs in content while Hinata giggled at their expense and Shikamaru just sat there looking at them thoughtfully with a small grin. With a sigh the men stood and cleared the table of dishes while Hinata removed the delicate tablecloth that had been a gift from Kurenai when he finally moved out of his parents' house and placed it in a drawer under the shelf part of a hutch that had been hand-crafted exquisitely with very fine details.

She sighed in content; even though that day had started off alright and moving out had actually gone fairly well, the moment she entered the house, one she could actually call home, she felt immense happiness. Turning around and heading into the kitchen filled with a sense of completion, she walked in on what could only be described as wrong.

Shikamaru should not be curled tightly in the fetal position as if trying to protect himself.

"What happened?"

What caused him to collapse, you may ask... Well you'll have to wait for the next installment for that answer. SOrry that it took so long again guys. Thanks for waiting so long, but I hope to have CH. 8 up before August 20th because I start back to college then and I have a full schedule. SO, I hope it will be worth the wait as I am working this chapter slowing to hopefully build up the plot better. Can't wait to have it up for you guys who are dedicated readers!


	8. He's WHAT! So Go On A Date

(well here is chapter 8 finally. I hope it was worth the wait and doesn't seem as long winded as it does to me. anyway hope you enjoy and please review those that actually enjoy these two pairings. There's actually 5 whole pages here instead of like 2 or 3. though I like the readin format better because it ups it to like 10 pgs. Anyone like the idea for a pre-quel to this story Reason beign that I have a few ideas bouncing around the I'd like to play around with if I get enough reviews saying that people would like it. Let me know with some constructive critism on the story so far please. Finally this is my shout out to those who have reviewed more than once: **haosthunder, akitty, earthbender068,** and** demonduck132. Thank you guys soo much because you are the ones motivating me to keep writing this! **Anyway R&R. ~IET)

Chapter 8:

"What happened?" Hinata exclaimed her Byakugan activating instantly searching Shikamaru for what could possibly be wrong. She could hardly hear Kiba saying that he didn't know; when he and Naruto followed Shikamaru in they found him collapsed as she sees him. He was clawing at the floor, positively sinking his nails into the linoleum and tearing it up in thin strips.

There were no other words exchanged when the lights dimmed and the shadows finally made them black out. Kiba was the only one to realize what was happening and he was frozen with something akin to fear just not quite there. He didn't know what to do, or how long this would last. With another moment's hesitation, he dashed to Shikamaru's side.

As he reached out a voice commanded from behind him. "Don't touch him!" The cry was desperate, and it astounded him that it came from his little sister.

"Why? He needs help; we need to get him to Lady Tsunade!" He rebelled throwing a pointed look at her as if she had lost her mind.

"No, I can see a darker inner chakra taking over him. You need to give him space." Kiba was hesitant to do as recommended, but then he also didn't want to cause his love more pain if that would be the case should Kiba touch Shikamaru.

With a firm nod he slowly backed away from his love laying prone in the fetal position his nails still alternating between scraping at the floor and clawing at his stomach. With a choked sound, Shikamaru suddenly flipped onto his back surprising them all with the sudden movement. The shadows took that as their cue to finally engulf him completely, and when they did, there was neither hide nor hair of the genius just an empty pitch black cloud covering the area where he once lay.

There was utter silence before Naruto broke with typically clueless comment. "What the hell just happened?"

"I don't know but it can't be good. We need to try and get him back but he was in obvious pain so I think getting Lady Tsunade here as soon as possible would be key to his survival-" Hinata suggested but at the insinuation that Shikamaru might be in danger, Kiba turned a snarling growl her way.

Naruto tried to diffuse the situation by stepping between them; he didn't like the crazed look in Kiba's eyes when he growled at her. In an attempt get Hinata away from her unstable best friend he suggested she be the one to get Tsunade.

"I don't think that would be best. I am the only one who can even catch a glimpse of Shikamaru in that thick shroud of chakra, so I need to stay. Kiba…" When she said his name in that commanding tone, he seemed to back down from snarling into whimpering. "Go get Lady Tsunade." He was hesitant at first but another look at the dense cloud and he took off; the command from Hinata was the only sane thought in his mind.

"Now, while he's gone we wait…" Hinata said as she plopped down onto the kitchen tile into the lotus position and focused on the throbbing cloud of intense chakra to try and keep track of Shikamaru's progress. It was but minutes of intense silence before Naruto could stand it no longer.

"So how long do you think-" He closed his mouth tightly at the stare he earned for Hinata and gulped. "Never mind, sorry…" He bowed his head and began to pace.

As Naruto continuously made quick laps from her to the kitchen entrance across the room, Hinata felt a vain in her forehead twitch; he was distracting her.

"…Naruto…" She spoke quietly, and though her eyes never left the cloud Naruto knew she was glaring. He gulped before he spoke.

"Yes, Hinata…" He spoke timidly, nervously sweating in anticipation.

"Go join, Kiba please." Though she spoke politely, her tone was crisp and quite unlike any other time he had heard her speak; that was the reason he was quick to utter a small "yes, ma'am" with a small bow and exit to find Kiba.

While Naruto was wearing down Hinata's patience with his pacing, Kiba had already made it to their leader's tower and her office in a new personal best. Bursting through the door, he announced in earnestness: "Tsunade, come quick." At the look in his eye, she only hesitated a moment to excuse herself from the guests she was entertaining to what appeared to be a more pressing matter.

"What is it, Kiba?" Lady Tsunade spoke as they ran in a direction she was only vaguely familiar with.

"It's Shikamaru. We don't know what's wrong…" Kiba's anger on the matter was clear as he spoke and Tsunade did not question him further as there was nothing more he could explain on the issue. Halfway to the house they met up with Naruto, who they found out that Hinata had kicked out because of him distracting her with his pacing. Tsunade could only eye-roll at her godson because of how dense he was.

It was only minutes later that they finally arrived at Shikamaru's house. They entered without hesitance and approached the kitchen with haste. The site that met Tsunade was no less astounding than finding Naruto alive after his fight with Pein. She witnessed a black shroud of chakra that actually managed to lighten a shade or two from what it was originally.

Tsunade took a few cautious steps towards the cloud only to have it bulk at her coming near and sent her skidding back into the wall beside the doorway that she had previously entered. She stood up and dusted herself off as if nothing had happened and merely shook her head. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do until he fully transforms, either back into his original form or his other one."

At this, Naruto and Hinata exchanged curious glances as Lady Tsunade and Kiba seemed to know what was going on. "I'll send Shizune to keep watch, as I have other duties I must attend to." At the beginning of Kiba and Naruto's protest, she shot them a deathly glare that made them clamp their mouths shut before bowing respectfully along with Hinata as she left.

There were a few moments of silence that were followed by Naruto's confused statement. "Well, that wasn't very informative…" It was left to drift in the silence as Hinata went back to the task of watching over what she could see of Shikamaru amidst the chakra shroud that enclosed his form with her Byakugan and Kiba was slowly driven into a nervous wreck from waiting.

What could only be described as an eternity later, Shizune arrived with her pet pig, Ton-Ton. She cast a worried look at the dense shadow in the middle of the kitchen before asking if there had been any change. Hinata was the first to respond.

"There have been very subtle changed that I have only barely been able to pick up, even with the Byakugan activated. The mass seems to be less dense than even twenty minutes ago when we first sent for Lady Tsunade. I can make out the basic outline of Shikamaru now, but I cannot tell whether his form is changed because he's still in the fetal position from when it first consumed him…" Shizune nodded taking notes and told Hinata to rest. She released her Byakugan with an exhausted sigh; she was not used to using it quite so intensely, with having to look deep underneath layers of chakra as she had for almost an hour straight. Her eyes then felt it was their right to protest such prolonged usage by throbbing erratically.

She could only wince as Naruto's loud voice asked if she was alright. She gave a meek nod and said she simply needed to rest to which he helped her into the living room. But not before she could place a gentle arm upon Kiba's arm in comfort. He cast her a wary look as he placed his own hand over hers that rested upon his shoulder. "Go rest now, Hinata."

"Do not worry so much Kiba. I'm sure he will be alright when he pulls through." There was no argument that Shikamaru wouldn't be able to as she was guided into a laying position with her head laying in Naruto's lap as he gently guided his hand through her hair. She blushed lightly at the charming gesture and found that it helped soothe her aching eyes. She mumbled a small shy 'thank-you, Naruto' as she drifted off into a light slumber.

Meanwhile, Kiba was having a difficult time keeping a level head as the shadowing cloud faded to a dark gray from its previously coal black shroud. Shizune took notes whenever she noticed something such as the chakra lessening but other than that it was a slow process. It wasn't until midnight was but an hour away that Shizune deemed it safe to go get some sleep. He was hesitant to leave but as there were no substantial changes to Shikamaru's condition he decided it was for the best it he were to rest.

Walking out of the kitchen, he seen Hinata and Naruto passed out on the couch with his fingers still interwoven with Hinata's hair. Again he hesitated upon making an action, but refrained from the first one that came to mind and instead let them sleep as he found his way to the bedrooms. The one he entered was bare of clothes littering the floor however the books that took up much of the space were scattered about; most were open to a various page while the rest sat in stacks that were thoroughly bookmarked. Though the books covered most of the floor space, there was an obvious path through it all and each pile was sectioned off by the path leading Kiba to believe that there was some type of organization.

However, exhaustion one out over curiosity so he did not pursue his pondering thoughts on what the books were about and collapsed with fatigue onto Shikamaru's queen sized bed that was all the luxury of wealthy kings. It wasn't very astounding that the genius appeared to spend most of his time in his bedroom, and consequently his bed would have to be so comfortable that Kiba was knocked out within minutes.

It was only Shizune awake into the wee hours of the morning until she too had passed out from exhaustion on the kitchen floor. She slept peacefully knowing that it was unlikely for Shikmaru's status to change in such a short period of time.

The next morning everyone awoke as if having a comrade surrounded by a potentially lethal amount of dense chakra was an everyday occurrence as they all side-stepped Shizune's workspace and went about their daily routine when there was no news on any change overnight. Throughout the week this continued; Kiba, Naruto, and Hinata were sent on their own missions that at least kept them busy to pass the time, however they did nothing to lessen their worry.

It was another five days before Shizune had Hinata check with her Byakugan on Shikamaru. She didn't have to try as hard to see through the dull storm cloud grey color of the shadowy abyss that surrounded her dear friend, but what she say was not as easy to cope with. The insinuation was blatant and caused her head to sink in surprise as she bit her lip in hesitation at the telling of what was happening underneath the still rather thick chakra cloud.

"Well, how is he?" Kiba asked anxiously kneeling down at her side. She shook her head to snap herself out of it, but it still took a moment for her brain to slow down enough to digest the information.

"He is fine, but…"

"But, what, Hinata?" Kiba snapped restlessly while Naruto and Shizune waited with their own fears of what could possibly have shocked Hinata so badly.

"He's, um… well I'm sure you two already know what this secret is, about him turning female…."This was directed at Kiba and Shizune who curtly nodded while Naruto could only look on gob-smacked. "Well, now he…erm _she _is uuhh… pregnant…" The last word was whispered so quietly they almost didn't hear it. Fretfully, Hinata clasped her hands tightly in her lap to still them, as if it were that she was the one who was pregnant and not the one consumed by the ever so slightly lightening cloud.

The silence that permeated throughout the room was so quiet a pin could be heard dropping. Kiba was the first to speak; positively stunned by this turn of events.

"How? It's not possible… We didn't…" There was a more profound silence that followed after that. There was only one answer to the current situation and that was a person; one whom Kiba would throttle if he ever got his hand on him.

_Neji._

Blocks away, Neji fell into a fit of sneezing in the midst of performing one of the Hyuuga's many-practiced pre-training stretches that were part of the family's traditional fighting method. The sneezing fit however only gave him a moment's pause before he continued on thinking nothing of what had just occurred.

At Shikamaru and Hinata's house however, Kiba was snarling in outrage. 'How _dare_ he…' He couldn't help thinking as his hands formed tight fists; his nails drawing blood from the pressure.

"Kiba, you must calm down." The words were spoken quietly and were meant to slow his inner thoughts, but they did nothing to dissuade his fury. And it seemed the chakra cloud surrounding Shikamaru responded with equal distaste as the shockwave it sent out caused the ninja to slam into the walls they were standing across from. It also showed the cloud to grow so thin to the point that they all could see the curvy body within.

Thankfully that reaction seemed to knock Kiba down on the angry scale a few pegs; at least to the point where he was no longer exuding his own wave of chakra. A collective sigh passed through the group as they approach the prone figured still out of reach.

"At least he's okay, right Kiba?" Naruto asked with a wary smile pulling at his lips. Kiba shot a short look his way that had Naruto chuckling with anxiety before that gaze turned soft at his love still trapped in the chakra cloud before him. Hinata's gentle hand rested on his shoulder while Shizune took notes on what had just happened.

Kiba placed his hand on top of Hinata's to show his gratitude towards the small comfort his friend could offer. He sighed and turned away drawing both Naruto and Hinata out o the kitchen with curiosity towards what he was going to do.

He plopped down on the left corner seat of the couch and threw his left arm over his eyes. Hinata sat on his right while Naruto to a precarious position on the arm of the couch. Feeling their presence more than seeing them, Kiba shuttered with a shallow breath. "Kiba? Are you alright?" He nodded his head briefly answering Hinata worried question. "Does him having Neji's baby growing within him concern you?" At this he lifted his arm to cast a narrowed gaze at her that made her hesitant but she did not retract the question.

He sat there starting and thinking for a long time before he could offer up an answer to her inquiry. "I can live with him being pregnant with another man's kid. I just don't want him to be distressed if looking at it is only going to remind him of the fact that Neji broke his heart." Hinata could only nod with understanding as their conversation turned to a stand still. About fifteen minutes later, after thoughtful consideration he stood and turned to address both Naruto and Hinata. "I think it's high time you two went on a date."

The statement left Naruto sputtering and Hinata fighting back a cherry red blush from consuming her whole body. "B-but Kiba, what about….?"

She never finished that statement as Kiba squared his shoulders and crossed his arms to glare down at her before he replied with, "Now you will not be using this as an excuse to keep you two from moving your relationship along like how I know you both want to, so go on a date and I'll promise to send word if anything changes." There were small and weak protests by Naruto's standards before they were cut off once more and dragged out the door. "And I expect to hear how it went from you Naruto." Kiba finished with a threatening glare his way before closing the door behind them with finality.

They stood there for a good five minutes between staring at the door and then each other before Naruto spoke. "So, um how about it then?" Hinata blushed as Naruto pulled at his collar awkwardly as if it were choking him.

"I… um well I have to g-go buy new c-c-clothes since Kiba kicked us out before I could ch-change…" At the mention of her not changing he gave her a once over to refresh his memory at what she had been wearing: a thin blue singlet and matching stripe pajama shorts. His face slowly turned red at the thought of how easy it would be to…

His train of thought was cut off by a giggle coming from the girl, no the woman in front of him who daintily covered her mouth as if she could take it back. It was her gaze that drew his attention to something dripping down over his lips. With embarrassment, he covered his nose before announcing to her that he would meet her back there in three hours before dashing off in shame before she could reply.

Hinata let another giggle escape her before she went off to find her mentor and mother figure since she had joined her genin team; there she would hopefully help in buying her outfit for her first date with Naruto.


End file.
